How To Avoid Conflict In The Church | Part 1

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Church Life, Practical1 Comment

How To Avoid Conflict Part 1

At home, work, or church conflict happens. It is not pretty. It is not desired. It causes riffs in our community, but it happens. With all the negative consequences, we wonder how can we keep conflict out? James offers the answer in his epistle. For the next four posts, I hope to provide some of James’ wisdom.

How Do We Avoid Conflict?

(1) Don’t promote yourself as wise.

Wise men don’t promote themselves as wise. They are given the title. James 3:13 says,

“Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.”

Apparently, some in James’ church claimed the status of wise man. They did so because they desired to lead the community. Knowing the leaders and teacher are wise men, they heralded themselves as wise in order to obtain the position.

James, however, tells us wise men are discovered through observation. Their good conduct and humility attest to their wisdom. As they follow the Lord, living according to His word in humility, serving others instead of themselves, they are recognized as wise.

Wise men recognize promoting themselves leads to conflict. Especially, if all or part of the community doesn’t agree, or if there is someone else promoting themselves. Those two are sure to butt heads causing unwanted conflict.

So then, the answer to avoiding conflict is to not promote ourselves, but let others recognize our wisdom through our actions.

Looking Forward

The next post in this series suggests we can avoid conflict by killing the passions within.

Question for Reflection

  1. Do you do say things in order to promote yourself as wise?

Resource

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How Do I Know If I Am Envious?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical4 Comments

Marriage Ring

Envy, jealousy, or covetousness can have devastating effects. It is what led Cain to kill Abel. It is what leads to conflict at work. It’s damaging affects should lead us to ask: How do I know if I am envious?

How do we know if we are envious?

We know we are envious when:

  • We can’t experience joy at the success of others.
  • We think of doing something that would hinder another’s success.
  • We think of doing harm to another.
  • We resent the praise they receive because we think we deserve it.

How can we kill the sin of envy?

Pray – Repent and ask God to remove our envious hearts.

Remind – Remind ourselves an envious spirit births from a desire for others to praise and accept us.

Gospel – Remind ourselves we are more accepted than we could ever imagine in Christ. Man’s acceptance pale’s in comparison to the acceptance we receive from God in Christ.

Summary

By praying, reminding, and preaching the gospel to ourselves, our envious hearts can be killed. We must act fast because envy moves to anger to verbal or physical harm quickly.

Question for Reflection

  1. Are you envious of another?

Resource

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Adapted from my sermon The Fate of Those Who Persist in Sin

5 Strategies Satan Uses To Attack Us

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical10 Comments

Attack

What are the strategies Satan uses to attack us? If we are fighting a spiritual war, we need to know his strategies. As Paul says,

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. – Ephesians 6:12

5 Strategies of Satan

(1) Temptation – Satan seeks to entice us to sin.

His purpose is to kill or hinder our witness through public scandal. To gain evidence that would allow him to accuse our conscience. To weaken our faith in sanctification in an area of our lives. To cause us to love our sin so we start excusing it or justifying it.

(2) Deception – Satan seeks to blind us to the truth and deceive us into thinking counterfeits are the real thing.

He tells us lies about God, the world, and ourselves, hoping we will believe them. He offers false teachers, promises, peace, joy, and happiness as a way to keep us from the biblical truth.

(3) Accusation – Satan seeks to keep us in conflict with the world and one another, as well as he works to get us to question our standing before God.

He causes unbelievers to accuse us of acts those on the fringes of Christianity do. He incites division among believers so they will accuse each other. As well as he uses our sins against us continually telling us we are not good enough to be a Christian.

(4) Possession – Satan seeks to put humans under the control of demons.

He causes individuals to be overtaken by demonic agents, who control their personality and provide them with supernatural gifts – healing and paranormal knowledge.

(5) Physical Attack – Satan seeks to attack through demonic activity, human agents, or institutions.

He causes demons to attack and oppress. He uses humans to persecute. He uses institutions, such as government to hinder the growth of Christianity.

Conclusion

Knowing the strategies Satan uses to attack us is helpful. Especially, in light of what Peter says,

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. – 1 Peter 5:8-9

In order to be watchful and resist Him, we need to know his strategies.

Questions for Reflection

  1. How do you think Satan attacks?
  2. What would you add to this list?

Resources

Post adapted from Dynamics of Spiritual Life by Richard Lovelace, 137-40.

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What Does It Look Like to Follow Jesus?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn PracticalLeave a comment

Thorns

Matthew 9:1-17 answers the question: Why did Jesus come? As you walk through the narrative, you discover Jesus came to:

Call sinners to Himself, forgive their sin, transform them, and institute a new system centered on Himself.

If Jesus calls us to Himself, forgives our sins, transforms us, and institutes a new system, and if He, as God, has the authority to do this, we must follow Him.

The Problem

Living in the Bible Belt, many claim to be followers of Jesus, but it seems they don’t quite understand what it means to follow Him.

Matthew helps to correct the problem. In the same narrative, we get a picture of what it looks like to follow Jesus. Below are five snap shots of what it looks like to follow Jesus.

Those Who Follow Jesus

(1) Live in obedience to Him

Followers of Jesus recognize His authority points to Him being God.

God has the right to demand our obedience because He is our Creator.

So those who follow Him live in obedience to Him. They submit to His will for their lives, allowing Him to call the shots.

(2) Leave their old life behind

Matthew was a Tax Collector, but after he came to Jesus, he was no longer a Tax Collector. Just as Matthew left his old life behind, we must leave our old life behind. We must make a break with the past.

Leaving our old life behind is possible because when we come to Jesus, we are transformed and freed from the bondage of sin, which frees us to live for God.

When we come to Jesus, our lives should look different than before. Our desires should be different. The things that we want to do and like to do should change. Our actions should be different. Our attitude should be different. How we view God should be different. How we view others should be different. Instead of viewing others as a means to an end, like Matthew did before Christ got a hold of him, we should now love and have a desire to serve them.

All this points to the fact that those who have been transformed by Jesus become a new creation.

Since followers of Jesus are a new creation, if our desires, actions, attitudes, how we view others, and how we view God have not changed, we need to reevaluate whether we are following Jesus or not, because Jesus transforms sinners.

(3) Don’t just perform external religious actions

The Pharisees were masters at performing. God, however, doesn’t want our sacrifices. He doesn’t want our religious show. Instead, He wants our heart. He wants us to be sold out for Him.

If we are going to follow Jesus, we can’t just perform, our heart has to be given fully to Him.

How do we know when that happens?

We know our heart is given to God when we, in mercy and love, reach out to those around us.

(4) Have a burden for the lost and broken

Jesus did. His burden led Him to take on the flesh of man. To call sinners to Himself. To eat with Tax Collectors and Sinners. Those who are true followers of Christ, will also have a heart and a burden for the lost and the broken.

True followers of Jesus desire for others to be saved.

They desire for others to experience the same joy they do. Their hearts are burdened for the lost around them. Their burden results in them reaching out getting to know the lost and speak the gospel into their lives. Jesus did, and so do those who follow Him.

(5) Look forward to His return

The Bridge Groom was taken and nailed to the cross for the sins of mankind. Even though He was put to death. He rose on the third day, defeating death. 40 days later, He ascended into Heaven where He sits on His throne. One day, He is going to return. When He does, He will usher in the New Heavens and the New Earth.

Followers of Jesus long for and eagerly anticipate His return.

They can’t wait until He brings the New Heavens andNew Earth. They desire to sit under His reign and rule. To live for all eternity with Him as their King.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Do you live in obedience to Him?
  2. Have you left your old life behind?
  3. Have you given Jesus your heart or are you still performing?
  4. Do you have a burden for the lost?
  5. Do you long for Jesus’ second coming?

Resources

Post adapted from my sermon Why did Jesus come?

Count The Cost, But Don’t Count It Too Long

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals3 Comments

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In Matthew 8:18, before Jesus crosses the Sea of Galilee to the country of the Gadarenes, Matthew writes:

Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to go over to the other side.

After hearing Jesus’ command, two men approach him.

First, a Scribe promises to follow Jesus wherever He goes.

The Scribe’s promise is noble, but Jesus’ response reveals something more. Jesus says to the man:

Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no where to lay His head.

Essentially, Jesus tells him He is homeless.

Why did Jesus say that?

Here is a man who says He will follow Him wherever He goes. Seems like Jesus’ remark might dissuade him from following Him. So why say it?

Jesus says it to expose this man’s heart and his lack of thoughtfulness. The Scribe hadn’t considered what it meant to follow Jesus. He hadn’t considered following Jesus meant he had no home to go to at night, no promise of a comfortable bed, or a hot meal. In other words, he hadn’t counted the cost of what it meant to follow Jesus. He heard Jesus say go to the other side, and he came up and said I will follow you wherever you go.

Often times we see that in churches. The preacher tells us that we need to make Jesus our Savior. So people do. They do it, however, without ever considering what it actually means. What it will cost them.

Second, a disciple says he will follow Jesus, but he must first bury his father.

Again, this sounds good. He wants to take care of his family, but Jesus doesn’t see it that way. He tells him:

Let the dead, bury their own dead.

Why did Jesus respond in this way?

It wasn’t to say we can’t ever go to funerals, if we want to be a Christian. He says it to reveal something is hindering him from answering His call. That something is his father. He wants to wait to follow Jesus until after his father is gone.

There could be several reasons. Maybe there is an obligation he must keep, but once his father is gone he is no longer bound to it. Maybe his father doesn’t approve of Jesus and would disown him if he followed him. While we don’t often experience this in the Bible Belt because Christianity is culturally acceptable. It is a reality for some that when they come to Christ they will lose their family or friends.

No matter what this man’s, or our reason for not following Jesus, we learn Jesus expects us to be willing to put Him before all things – our family, our life, our business, or our career. Jesus wants to be supreme in our lives. To truly be His disciple, we must allow Him that supreme position. We should not allow the concerns or rejection of others, including our family to keep us from Jesus. Jesus is not going to say on Judgment Day.

“Oh, following me would have cost your relationship with your family, or your business, or your life. That is ok. I understand. Come on into the kingdom.”

No way, that would never happen. You see, we must be willing to give up everything for Him. To sacrifice it all.

What do we learn?

Our narrative presents both a person who is too quick to promise to follow Jesus without first counting the cost, and a person who waits too long because he has put something else before Him. With that in mind, the idea Matthew is driving home is:

Count the cost, but don’t count it too long.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Have you counted the cost?
  2. Are you counting the cost too long?

Resources

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This series is adapted from my recent sermon: Why Should We Follow Jesus?

Why Should We Follow Jesus? | Part 2

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical12 Comments

Why Should We Follow Jesus Part 2

In my last post in this series, I answered the first of three questions: Why should we follow Jesus? Today, we move on to the last two.

WHAT GETS IN THE WAY OF US FOLLOWING JESUS?

Even though Jesus’ authority points to Him as being God, we are not willing to follow Him. There are several things that get in the way. Things we are not willing to give up. Matthew highlights a few in his narrative.

  • Possessions
  • Family approval
  • Acceptance from friends
  • Our life

These all can keep us from following Jesus, surrendering all to Him, and worshipping Him.

WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO TO REMOVE THE HINDRANCE FROM FOLLOWING JESUS?

(1) We have to count the cost.

I believe people put more consideration into buying a house than to coming to Christ. You would never go to the realtors office, ask for a house, and buy the first one they present to you without checking it out.

Instead, you inspect the house yourself. Drive around the neighborhood. Check out the school district. Make sure the price is fair and the inspection checks out. You bring your friends and family over to get their opinion. You do all those things because buying a house is a 15 to 30 year investment. As well as you want to be sure it is going to serve your family well.

Jesus is relaying the same message to us. He is saying, “Don’t be too quick to follow me. Count the cost. Realize for what you are signing up. If you are truly my disciple, there is a hard road ahead of you.”

(2) We can’t trust in something other than Jesus.

In our narrative the disciples trusted in a boat. Some of you may trust in your bank account or intellectual abilities. Whatever it is, we fail to trust in Jesus because we are trusting in something else. As this story proves, however, a boat will only carry us so far. A bank account will only sustain us for so long. Our intellect can only help us as long as our mind remains intact. Inevitably, these things will fail us.

You see, it is foolishness to put our trust in anything but Jesus. He is the only one who can save us.

Like these men in our narrative, once we realize trusting in anything else will fail us, we must turn to the only one who can save, Jesus Christ. After turning to Him, we must worship Him because Jesus isn’t just a life boat to save us when we are drowning. He is the almighty God who deserves our daily worship.

(3) Jesus is God not just another man.

In our narrative, Jesus proves that He is God. Disciples follow Him at His request. He calms a storm. He heals two demon possessed men with just a word. The demons submit to Him and call Him the Son of God. These things point to His authority and the fact that He is God. God deserves our worship, so we must give that to Him.

We don’t, however, just worship Him when we come together on Sunday. We also worship Him by:

  • Recognizing His authority over our lives.
  • Putting Him first
  • Submitting to Him
  • Obeying Him

In other words, we worship Him with our whole lives.

(4) We can’t value anything above Him.

The people of the city valued their possessions over Jesus, allowing their loss to blind them. When we value something more than God, we are in violation of the first of the Ten Commandments. The first commandment tells us not to put any other gods before the One True God. When we do, we have made that thing into an idol – a god.

In order to rid ourselves of these idols, we have to realize they are not going to last. They are man made. They are temporary. Temporary things break down. They fail us. They disappoint us.

So then, we can’t hold our possessions in greater value than God. We have to be willing to give those up for God. We have to see them for what they are. We can’t allow them to blind us.

(5) Our heart has to be pierced by the gospel.

Only a heart that has been regenerated will submit to God and give Him the worship that is due Him. So we must believe in the gospel.

We must believe that we are sinners in need of a Savior. Jesus is that Savior. He is because He lived a perfect life, and died the death we deserved. He went to the cross to pay the price for our sins. He faced the wrath of God that we deserve. When we believe that, we are saved. Our heart is pierced by the gospel.

Our heart must be regenerated before we can follow Jesus, surrender all to Him, and truly worship Him. You can’t do these things without a changed heart. To try to do so is futile.

Conclusion

Once we come to Christ, count the cost, recognize Jesus is God, and realize we can’t trust in and value anything more than Him. Once we have done those things, we will be in a place where we will be able to follow Jesus, surrender all to Him, and worship Him.

Question for Reflection

  1. What do you allow to get in the way of you following Jesus?

Resource

This series is adapted from my recent sermon: Why Should We Follow Jesus?